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i dont mind toronto builidng a lot of high rise resident condos, but i also have some gripes with whats being built
-lot and lots of similar looking green glass condos (smh); look at cityplace.
-lots of them are being built with no street life at the bottom of them (ground floor retail for example)
-we are building all this, but in comparison the pace of building and expanding public transit is very slow)
-lately there have been a lot of twin towered projects going up which im not a fan of
-nothing unique (no crowns on the top, unique lighting features etc. like you see in new york or chicago high rise developments)
but there are pros:
-lots of development... not just in the core, but everywhere (north york centre, yonge/eglinton, west end, lakeshore, yorkville etc.)give an effect of mini skylines everywhere.
-the proposals are getting better and better (and taller and taller) as time goes on (1 yonge, king west proposal etc.)
-"new neighborhoods" are forming, like the pan am village development.
-the skyline is expanding/growing/and changing....if its ugly building or pretty ones, the skyline is getting bigger and bigger quickly.
-lots and lots of stuff still in the pipeline.
What do you think about Aura and the L Tower.. They aren't green boxes lol and far from ugly ... I think it's a great time for T.O!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrjun18
i dont mind toronto builidng a lot of high rise resident condos, but i also have some gripes with whats being built
-lot and lots of similar looking green glass condos (smh); look at cityplace.
-lots of them are being built with no street life at the bottom of them (ground floor retail for example)
-we are building all this, but in comparison the pace of building and expanding public transit is very slow)
-lately there have been a lot of twin towered projects going up which im not a fan of
-nothing unique (no crowns on the top, unique lighting features etc. like you see in new york or chicago high rise developments)
but there are pros:
-lots of development... not just in the core, but everywhere (north york centre, yonge/eglinton, west end, lakeshore, yorkville etc.)give an effect of mini skylines everywhere.
-the proposals are getting better and better (and taller and taller) as time goes on (1 yonge, king west proposal etc.)
-"new neighborhoods" are forming, like the pan am village development.
-the skyline is expanding/growing/and changing....if its ugly building or pretty ones, the skyline is getting bigger and bigger quickly.
-lots and lots of stuff still in the pipeline.
-nothing unique (no crowns on the top, unique lighting features etc. like you see in new york or chicago high rise developments)
this is especially true.
Toronto looks generic and cheap. Yes, we have the most highrises under construction in the western hemisphere, but also the most ugly ones as well.
And just so you know, things like sculpture, beauty, nice architecture, and great public spaces are considered the norm, not expensive frills - even cities in developing countries have them, and the people love and appreciate them. The fact that you think these things superlative shows the kind of apathy we're dealing with in this city as we make room for more people. Do you really think a city should simply be a collection of dwellings and businesses? Even Stalin and Mao weren't so closed-minded.
I was going to say something like. And even beyond grand public squares... it's surprising how even middle class *OK* parts of cities (not talking about posh enclaves, but middle class areas) like Warsaw, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile, etc., in much richer countries than Canada, look really good compared to many of our "good areas" here.
Botticelli, sounds like you don't appreciate the few things that do make Toronto, if not beautiful, then at least full of character. Where many people see character and heritage, you see ugly old gritty mayhem that needs to be "made new" in the words of the Modernist, Ezra Pound. You've included some of Toronto's hottest, most expensive nabes in your list of worst parts of the downtown. Furthermore, Bathurst St. from King to Bloor is one of the most urban streets outside the downtown core, so why do you label it as being suburban? Do you live in Toronto?
with all due respect, this is exactly what Botticelli was talking about..you are blind to the uglyness of the city, the city really has no charm, and simply cannot be classed as a world class city ( I laugh when I hear people say this like Mel Lastman for example), as Botticelli said (correctly) even smaller cities like Boston have way more charm and more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
I was going to say something like. And even beyond grand public squares... it's surprising how even middle class *OK* parts of cities (not talking about posh enclaves, but middle class areas) like Warsaw, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile, etc., in much richer countries than Canada, look really good compared to many of our "good areas" here.
with all due respect, this is exactly what Botticelli was talking about..you are blind to the uglyness of the city, the city really has no charm, and simply cannot be classed as a world class city ( I laugh when I hear people say this like Mel Lastman for example), as Botticelli said (correctly) even smaller cities like Boston have way more charm and more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, my friend. Many cities are beautiful for many reasons. I find all kinds of urban areas beautiful. If you take a walk in Toronto's neighbourhoods I think you'll see that there is a lot of beauty there, a lot of charm, and a wonderful hodge-podge of architectural styles and urban landscapes that are unique to this city. If you don't like it, that's fine. But there are tens of thousands of people willing to pay big money to live in these areas - they can't all be wrong.
Second, as far as Toronto being a world city - like it or not, it is one. It's the largest, most important city in a G7 nation and is considered an Alpha World city by the GaWC (Global city - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), right up there with Beijing, Seoul, São Paulo, Los Angeles and other leading cities. Take a look at where Rome lands on this list - you'll have to look way down to find it (it's even below Boston). That's because your aesthetics (or anyone else's) don't decide what makes a city world class. It takes more than nice architecture to give a city global significance. Sure, there are many areas where Toronto needs improvement - I'm all too aware of the things this city needs to work on, one of which was the reason for me starting this thread - but as far as Toronto not being "world class" you're wrong.
Just to give you one small example of how important Toronto is in the global financial and business world, they did a study in New York to look at telephone traffic and which parts of New York called which other parts of the world most frequently. While some of the figures were predictable, like the South Bronx having a high proportion of calls to Puerto Rico and the Domincan Republic, one of the more interesting finds was that one of the most frequent area codes dialled in Midtown and Downtown Manhattan was 416. This is just one anecdotal, but quite revealing tidbit that demonstrates how important and interconnected Toronto is to global financial markets. Toronto's stock market is seventh largest in the world. As Toronto continues to grow and improve its infrastructure, it will only continue to grow in importance on the world stage.
However, I do worry that our political leaders and decision makers aren't up to the task of making this city the best it can be. They love taking money from Toronto, in the form of taxes, but they hate giving it back, even if it means stunting growth in the entire region (the transit wars are a perfect example). This often leads to the city having to do a lot with a little, and the result is half-a55ed transit, public spaces, urban planning, infrastructure development, etc. Then the city is so desperate for cash it lets the developers build whatever crap they want without proper urban planning or ensuring existing neighbourhoods are not saddled with developments that simply don't fit, or preventing important historical properties from being torn down, or even ensuring there is sufficient infrastructure and amenities in place to accommodate all the new residents. These are all problems this city faces, but every city has its problems. Despite them all, Toronto has managed to be a leading world city in many ways. Business and finance is just one example.
this is especially true.
Toronto looks generic and cheap. Yes, we have the most highrises under construction in the western hemisphere, but also the most ugly ones as well.
The L tower is a good change.
Here's what has been going up in Chicago lately. Most of these buildings don't look any better to me than what we're getting in Toronto - as matter of fact, I'd say that some of them are worse than our green glass condos that everyone loves to hate.
Here's what has been going up in Chicago lately. Most of these buildings don't look any better to me than what we're getting in Toronto - as matter of fact, I'd say that some of them are worse than our green glass condos that everyone loves to hate.
Yup, plenty of 5hite being built in the Chi. I don't get it. Who's building all this ugly crap? Better yet, who's designing it? And why?
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They aren't green boxes lol and far from ugly ... I think it's a great time for T.O!
